Alright so I'm looking at buying my FIRST RC car and I must say the choices are vast and I'm quite intimated by it all. I've read forums and looked at reviews and I really must say that I just need some help choosing a first model. So here's my specs:

1. I want a fast, durable off road vehicle (buggy, truggy(?) or monster truck)
2. I want to build it from a kit. I don't just want to buy one that's pre-assembled. Part of the fun looks like putting it together.
3. Since it's off road, it will be used outside. So nitro is an option.

Can someone just recommend like 2 or 3 good RC cars for a total newbie that fit this criteria. Some of the kits freak me out as it looks like you could get stuck with just a chassis and your on your own for an engine, body, tires etc.

Just point me to the newbie kits but I want something that is going to make an afternoon home from work in my backyard fun. I'm not looking at racing or anything, I just want to tool around in some dirt.

Savage X SS comes with everything except a radio and you can pick up a decent 2 channel radio for starting at around $100. The Savage does not come stock with a reverse so if you think you might want reverse then you'll need to get that and a 3 channel radio instead of the 2 ch.

No way get a stadium truck man. Cheap, easy, fast, great for learning to drive, tough. Buy yourself a Factory Team rc10gt2 kit. and an OS12tz. and if youw ant youwill have a very competitive race car.

ive got an associated rc10, its fun but most recently i got into 18th scale, its a blast i love this size so much more because they maneuver so well and accelerate soooo fast. this site has a sale right now on the RTR Xray nitro monster truck for $269. www.superfastrc.com

i know you said you want to build it so i would recommend an XRAY M18MT (this is in kit form) and you can build it yourself. i only mentioned the rtr truck above because of the sale price.

my gt would accelerate just as fast if it were only geared for 15mph hahaha

a nitro evader st is a good starter truck i still have mine .
it comes with an unbeatable warranty too if you break your engine within the 2 year warranty mail it to them and get a free one , same for parts too except there 3 months waranty and it goes 40mph, parts are easy to find ive jumped mine 6-7 feet up and it doesnt break

As far as a KIT i would say:
Savage SS 4.6
Savage X SS

If you want a bad***** truck RTR out of the box get a GST 7.7. Take it apart and out it back together if you want lol?

I would definately say the Savage X SS. It is one of the most durable trucks in the industry, and you'll have a hard time breaking it.

You will also need to buy Electronics, and there are many different manufacturers and types. A 2-Channel System is all you need if you don't want reverse, and a 3-Channel System is required if you do want reverse (you will need the reverse module in addition to that). It all depends on your budget.